Gear Selector Gone Floppy :-(

[Jolly sailor]

When my P reg TDi galaxy's cold, first gear is stiff and difficult to select.

while out in it on Sunday I pulled up to a junction gave the gear stick A good push to locate first (there was no noise or noticeable difference in resistance).

The gear stick went floppy and the car was stuck in neutral.

When I got home I checked the gear stick and the selector cables which are all working, the Haynes manual I have has no section on gear boxes!.

Has any one had any expense of this? The selector arm is bolted on top of the gear box but I'm afraid to remove it in case of alignment issues.

any suggestions much appreciated.

[sparky Paul]

Chapter 7A in the Haynes manual covers the manual gearbox, and the gearchange mechanism and adjustment.

 

You need to make sure both cables are actually operating the selector shaft into the gearbox. Even if the ends are connected to the balljoints, the cable sheaths must be correctly located in the brackets on the linkage assembly for it all to function correctly. Once you have observed that the cables are operating the selector shaft correctly, I'm afraid the next thing is a fault inside the gearbox.

 

Your initial problem of a stiff change could just be low oil level or a dragging clutch, or it could have been the start of something more sinister inside the gearbox.

Edited November 23, 2010 by sparky Paul

[mikej]

Please don't quote me on this but isn't there an issue with a selector mechanism bolt shearing off on these, i am sure i have read something along these lines ? :blink:

[gregers]

Please don't quote me on this but isn't there an issue with a selector mechanism bolt shearing off on these, i am sure i have read something along these lines ? :blink:

 

yes,somewhere on here is a fix for that problem.

[Jolly sailor]

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

On closer inspection it tuned out to be the bolt on the selector arm.

 

I'll just mention a few things that may be of benefit to others in a similar predicament.

 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS DON'T FORCE IT IN TO GEAR AND DRIVE IT, YOU'LL JUST DISTROY YOUR GEARBOX AND GEARS

 

If you have the Haynes manual then use it to help you remove the battery, coolant expansion tank and all the plastic shield's and cowlings and things.

 

slacken off the near side wheel and and also the hub nut "you'll want some thing on the end of your wrench to give an extra bit of leverage. then get the front end as high as you can on a set of axle stands.

 

Put a jack under the gear box and remove the four 16mm bolts that hold the gear box to the engine mount and lower it down a couple of inches. removing the gear selector cables requires some patients because old ones become brittle and brake easily "although when I first looked at mine a couple of years ago one of um had been held on with insulation tape for at least 3 years!"

 

Release the reversing light sensor and undo the six bolts that hold the selector unit in place and then lift it out. it's now that you'll see what happened

 

"It's now time to go fishing for the bolt head" I got one of thoughs magnets on a long coiled wire. Dip it in to the gear box and have a root around. If your lucky and find the foreign body that's it, all you have to do is replace the bolt in the selector unit, if your not then its a good job you put the axle stands under the car.

 

I didn't find it with the magnet.

 

Remove the near side wheel and remove the hub bolt, undo the anti-roll bar linkage and unbolt and separate the ball joint and pull the wheel assembly away from the drive shaft. Then separate the drive shaft from the gear box (the manual was a bit vague about this I found the only way to do this was to put my foot against the gear box and yank it out)I'm not sure that this is all that good for the drive shaft though.

 

undo all the bolts that hold the gear box to the bell housing and starting at the front of the box start prizing it apart. although i undid all the bolts there seemed to be some thing holding the box to the bell housing at the very back next to the bulk head, however I was able to force the front part open about 30mm then with a torch a 2.5mm Allen key and a pair of long nose pliers I was able to retrieve the bolt head and have a quick check to make sure every thing was alright. Then with a G clamp I closed it up and put it all back together again.

 

The sheared bolt in the selector shaft had to be drilled out with a small drill and removed with a stud extractor. It was at this point I found it was a M7 bolt you will have trouble finding one of these I'm trying to source a titanium one of the net

 

Bang it all back togeather and Bobs your uncle. :lol:

[sparky Paul]

Great post, looks like one for the FAQ section to me.:lol:

[mikej]

Good news mate, at least you found the issue, a pain in the arse job to do but still cheaper than a new box at the end of the day if that's any comfort :lol:

[bangbus]

Good news mate, at least you found the issue, a pain in the arse job to do but still cheaper than a new box at the end of the day if that's any comfort :rolleyes:

 

 

Well mine went at 111,000 miles and has gone again at 126,000 miles just five months later.

I had a recon box fitted first time as it happened whilst on the move and split the gearbox casing.

 

This time, its the same fault, gear stick is slack moving back and forth, moving the selector on the gearbox itself moves the gearstick so all the cables and linkages are intact.

 

However it happened whilst moving out of the car park this time, so it may be salvagable.

 

I'm going to have a go myself and if I cant fix it, it will be on ebay with a box of bits in the boot

 

One question though, yours was a Diesel, mine is a 2300 petrol (2002 if that makes much difference), is this the same gearbox or just the same fault ?

[bangbus]

Pulled out the battery box and extracted the selector mechanism yesterday

I was absolutly amazed to get the bolt out of the bottom of the gearbox undamaged.

 

I used a Halfords flexible magnetic pick up tool and drained the oil after a couple of unsuccessful rooting around sessions.

This tool has the advantage of being easy to mould into a "C" shape and root around in the darkest recesses of the gearbox.

 

The "Snick" sound it made when the magnet found the bolt was very rewarding.

 

 

So its back together with plenty of threadlock and done up plenty tight.

A brief test drive showed the gearchange was noticeably improved, no struggle with first, no crunching on third, both of these faults I attributed to a shoddy recon box.

 

So I really would like to thank the contributors to this thread for saving my Galaxy from the knackers yard this time.

 

I'll have a poke around and see if I can add anything of value to future questions.

 

Thanks again

 

Ian

[Lolboy77]

I have had this problem with the bolt shearing off. The RAC towed me home even though I suggested it may be a bad idea. Result, ruined gearbox. Lots of teeth falling out of drain hole and the head of a mashed up selector bolt. I have found a gearbox and thought I would replace this bolt with a new one before putting the box in the car. I am going to Loctite it and even thought of having a dot of weld put on the head of the bolt to really stop it coming undone.

 

My question is, does anyone know the torque setting for this bolt?

 

I have got charts of torque settings for bolts but I thought I would try and get the official Ford figure.

 

By the way, Ford don't list the bolt on the mk1 galaxy but they do on the mk2 even though the selector mechanism has the same part number so is obviously the same between the two mk's. The part number of the m7 bolt I believe is 7274506.

[Lolboy77]

Part number of the m7 bolt has changed to F1581812 £1.86+vat

 

I am waiting on the Ford techs to find me the torque figure for it. Going by the size m7x1 and spec 10.9 it should be in the region of 20-25 nm.

 

I am going to put it in with plenty of Loctite 243, anyone else used anything else? Spring washers, lock wire, welded it?

[Lolboy77]

30 nm

[colin247]

My old 1999 Galaxy has a similar problem, I can only engage 3rd and 4th gear, the cables are moving freely but the selector on the top of the gearbox seems to be siezed, what could the cause be?